The simple question of "How you guys doing?" ain't as prosaic as it used to be.

This is cool, new, and fits the mood

These last couple months of Coronavirus & related precautions have been like visiting a parallel reality. IMO it's not the "darkest timeline" that people joke about, but I sure miss the timeline that we splintered from back in March.

I've realized something, though, as I've been gathering this up: I'm doing this for me. I'm laying something to rest. I'm letting go of a lingering sense of what might-have-been, which in its own way is a part of the story of what ended-up-being.

As I mentioned last time: there's a mountain of cut content from To Serve In Hell, including some nuggets that I very much regretted having to take out. I've already shared a couple of those stronger moments with you, and discussed the thought process that lead to both adding and ultimately removing them.

To Serve In Hell generated over 20,000 words of cut content, representing more than a fifth of its final length. Not all of it is fit for presentation. However, a few bits still strike me as memorable or interesting, and I'd like to take a moment to share a couple of them.

There are spoilers ahead... but at this point I figure most people who are going to read Hell have already done so. For anyone else, maybe this'll spark some interest?

Yesterday was the first anniversary of Hell’s completion. True to form, I sat down a couple days ago to write something deep, significant, and retrospective. And just as true to form, that effort flamed-out into a hangdog bloodletting of pain and trauma which no one frankly needs to read.

Before I dig in here, I want to apologize for being late with my BronyCon recap. BronyCon was a juggernaut that slammed into some Real Life™ stuff that responded poorly to disruption. I do not regret going, but it caused some fires that needed fighting. Fortunately those are a bit better contained now, allowing me to reflect on it with a clearer mind.

One other warning: there be pics here. Not a ton, but don't taser me if your data plan notices.